Representation of online discussion in conjunction with primary visual content

ABSTRACT

A method of representing online discussions in conjunction with primary visual content is presented. In the method, the primary visual content is transmitted to a visual display for presentation to a user. A statement of an online discussion is received. In response to receiving the statement, a representation of the statement and an icon representing a source of the statement are transmitted in conjunction with the primary visual content for presentation on the visual display. The icon and the statement are coupled graphically on the visual display, and are placed near a periphery of the visual display. After a period of time while the icon and statement are presented on the display, presuming a second statement is not received from the source, the icon and the statement are removed from the display while the primary visual content is maintained on the display.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims the benefit of and priority to co-pending U.S.utility application entitled, “Representation of Online Discussion inConjunction with Primary Visual Content,” having application Ser. No.61/348,868, filed May 27, 2010, and which is entirely incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Among the many innovations resulting directly from the continuingevolution of the Internet is the development of websites hostingreal-time discussions among users located in separate geographic areas.Ordinarily, such an online discussion site, or “chat room”, provides agraphical interface in which a scrolling list of messages and associatedauthors, indicating the temporal order and logical interrelationship ofthe messages, is displayed on a computer screen. In more advanced onlinediscussion interfaces, each author may be represented by a graphicalicon or “avatar”, and may include one or more speech “bubbles” visuallycoupled with the avatar to associate the text of each message with theappropriate author. Moreover, some online role-playing game sites employavatars, speech bubbles, and the like to facilitate discussion betweengame characters. In both the chat site and gaming site realms, theonline discussion plays a central role, and thus arguably represents theprimary focus of the site.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the present disclosure may be better understood withreference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings arenot necessarily depicted to scale, as emphasis is instead placed uponclear illustration of the principles of the disclosure. Moreover, in thedrawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding partsthroughout the several views. Also, while several embodiments aredescribed in connection with these drawings, the disclosure is notlimited to the embodiments disclosed herein. On the contrary, the intentis to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents.

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a method according to an embodiment of theinvention of representing online discussions in conjunction with primaryvisual content.

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of a media content distributionsystem according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a media content receiver as employed in themedia content distribution system of FIG. 2 according to an embodimentof the invention.

FIGS. 4A through 4E are graphical representations of a televisiondisplay depicting an online discussion session according to anembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a media content receiver coupled to twoseparate display devices for variable presentation of online discussioninformation according to an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The enclosed drawings and the following description depict specificembodiments of the invention to teach those skilled in the art how tomake and use the best mode of the invention. For the purpose of teachinginventive principles, some conventional aspects have been simplified oromitted. Those skilled in the art will appreciate variations of theseembodiments that fall within the scope of the invention. Those skilledin the art will also appreciate that the features described below can becombined in various ways to form multiple embodiments of the invention.As a result, the invention is not limited to the specific embodimentsdescribed below, but only by the claims and their equivalents.

FIG. 1 presents a method 100 of representing online discussion or chatsessions in conjunction with primary visual content. As described ingreater detail below, primary visual content may be any visual or videocontent to be presented to a user, such as a televised news program,sporting event, movie, weekly episodic program, and so on. However,other types of primary visual content, including, but not limited to,still images and static documents, may also serve as primary visualcontent in other implementations. Further, an online discussion beingrepresented with the primary visual content involves two or more sourcesor parties to the discussion. Additionally, the discussion may addressor pertain to any subject or topic, including, but not limited to, theprimary visual content with which the discussion is being presented.

In the method 100 of FIG. 1, primary visual content is transmitted forpresentation on a visual display (operation 102), such as a televisionor video monitor. A statement representing part of an online discussionis received (operation 104). In response to receiving the statement, arepresentation of the statement, as well as an icon representing asource of the statement, is transmitted in conjunction with the primaryvisual content for presentation on the visual display (operation 106).In at least some embodiments, the icon and the statement are coupledgraphically on the display, and are placed near an edge or periphery ofthe display. After a period of time while the icon and the statement arebeing presented on the display, presuming a second statement by thesource is not received during that time, the icon and the statement areremoved from the visual display while maintaining the primary visualcontent on the display (operation 108).

While the operations of FIG. 1 are depicted as being executed in aparticular order, other orders of execution, including concurrent oroverlapping execution of two or more operations, may be possible. Inanother embodiment, a computer-readable storage medium may have encodedthereon instructions for a processor or other control circuitry of anelectronic device, such as a television receiver or set-top box, toimplement the method 100.

As a result of employing the method 100, information involving an onlinediscussion is presented near the periphery of a display, and remains onthe display for a limited amount of time. Thus, a user engaging in theonline discussion may carry on the discussion without significantlydetracting from the consumption or enjoyment of the primary visualcontent being presented on the same visual display. Additionaladvantages may be recognized from the various implementations of theinvention discussed in greater detail below.

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram of a media content distributionsystem 200 according to an embodiment of the invention. In thisparticular example, the system 200 is a satellite television broadcastsystem, although other types of content distribution systems, such ascable and terrestrial (“over-the-air”) television broadcast systems, mayalso incorporate some or all of the various inventive concepts describedhereinafter. In yet other implementations, the media contentdistribution system 200 may be a computer-based local-area network (LAN)or wide-area network (WAN), such as the Internet.

In the system of FIG. 2, a satellite uplink center 204 providesbroadcast television programming, possible along with audio programming,interactive television programming, and so on, to one or more satellites206 by way of at least one communication channel of an uplink 210 u. Theuplink 210 u may also carry metadata, such as electronic program guide(EPG) data, firmware upgrades, and other information. The satelliteuplink center 204 may receive this programming and associatedinformation from other sources, such as television networks, independenttelevision channels, EPG data services, and the like, and may generateat least some of the programming or information internally. Any of theprogramming transmitted to the satellite 206 may serve as primary visualcontent for ultimate presentation to a user.

The satellite 206 employs at least one signal transponder (not shown inFIG. 2) to receive the various channels of programming and relatedinformation on the uplink 210, and retransmit the information via adownlink 210 d to multiple media content receivers 202A, 202B, . . . ,202N. The media content receivers 202 are described with greaterparticularity below in conjunction with FIG. 3. Within the environmentof FIG. 2, the media content receivers 202 are satellite televisionset-top boxes 202, each of which is configured to receive the data onthe downlink 210 d via a parabolic antenna and a low-noiseblock-converter (LNB) attached thereto. Each of the media contentreceivers 202 is configured to process and transfer the receivedprogramming and associated information for one or more televisions (notdepicted in FIG. 2) for presentation to a user. In otherimplementations, the media content receiver 202 may be incorporatedwithin the television or other visual display device to which thereceiver 202 is connected.

To facilitate online discussions between users of the various mediacontent receivers 202, each of the receivers 202 is coupled to acommunication server 208 by way of communication links 212. Each of thecommunication links 212 may be implemented by way of Internetconnection, telephone connection, or other communication means. Each ofthe receivers 202 may transmit and receive messages initiated by a userof the receiver 202 for online discussions with users of other receivers202. Each of the messages may include the identity of one or moredestination receivers 202, users of such a receiver 202, specific onlinediscussion sessions, or the like. The communication server 208 may thenreceive such messages, determine the one or more destination receivers202 for each of the messages based on the destination informationaccompanying the message, and transmit the messages accordingly.

In one implementation, the communication server 208 may also be coupledvia an uplink center connection 214 to the uplink center 204. Such aconnection 214 may be beneficial in cases in which information providedduring the online discussion may be employed to affect the processingand transmission of the programming to be received at the receivers 202via the satellite 206 from the uplink center 204.

A possible example of the media content receiver 202 of FIG. 2 isillustrated in greater detail in FIG. 3. In this case, the receiver 202includes a media content input interface 302, a media content outputinterface 304, a communication interface 306, a user interface 308, andcontrol circuitry 310 coupled to the remaining components 302-308 of thereceiver 202. Other components, such as a power supply, an integrateddigital video recorder (DVR) unit, a “smart card” interface, and soforth, may also be included in the receiver 202, but such components arenot described further herein to simplify the following discussion.

The media content input interface 302 receives input primary visualcontent 312, such as television programming, from a content source. Inthe specific example of a satellite television receiver 202, the mediacontent input interface 302 receives the input primary visual content312 via an antenna/LNB combination, as discussed earlier, whichreceives, down-converts, and forwards the signal to the media contentinput interface 302, typically via a coaxial cable. The media contentinput interface 302 may include one or more tuners for selectingparticular programming channels of the incoming content 312 forforwarding to the television 320. The media content input interface 302may also perform any decryption, decoding, and similar processing of thereceived content 312 required to place the content 312 in a formatusable by the media content output interface 304. In one example, such aformat may be one of the Motion Picture Experts Group (MPEG) formats,such as MPEG-2 or MPEG-4, although other media content format standardsmay be utilized in other embodiments.

In other implementations, the design and configuration of the mediacontent input interface 302 may depend on the nature of the receiver202. In the case of the receiver 202 being a cable set-top box, themedia content input interface 302 may be configured to receivetelevision programming from a cable head-end. If, instead, the receiver202 is a terrestrial television receiver, the media content inputinterface 302 may receive the input primary visual content 312 via aterrestrial antenna receiving television signals “over the air”. Inanother example, in which the receiver 202 is a desktop or laptopcomputer, or even a cellular phone, the media content input interface302 is configured to receive the input primary visual content 312 over aLAN, a WAN, a cellular communication network, or any other communicationnetwork capable of delivering the content 312 to the receiver 202.

The media content output interface 304 provides the selected andprocessed primary visual content 312 as output primary visual content314 to the television 320 of FIG. 3. To that end, the media contentoutput interface 304 may encode the selected television content inaccordance with one or more television output formats. For example, themedia content output interface 304 may format the content for one ormore of a composite or component video connection with associated audioconnection, a modulated radio frequency (RF) connection, and a HighDefinition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) connection.

Continuing with FIG. 3, the communication interface 306 is configured totransmit and receive discussion messages 316 for an online discussionsession. Each message 316 may include a simple text statement, possiblyalong with an identification one or more of the source media contentreceiver 202 for the message 316, the destination media content receiver202, and the particular online discussion session to which the statementbelongs. In some embodiments, the message 316 may also include controlcharacters to provide different fonts for the text, as well as specialeffects, including underlining, bolding, italicizing, and the like. Inmore advanced implementations, the message 316 may include additionalinformation, such as uniform resource locators (URLs) for accessing webpages of interest. The communication interface 306 may employ any of anumber of communication technologies to send and receive the discussionmessages 316, including both wired and wireless varieties. For example,the communication interface 306 may be an Ethernet, Wi-Fi (IEEE802.11x), or Bluetooth® interface for connecting with an Internetgateway device for communicating with the communication server 208 overthe Internet.

In some implementations, the communication interface 306 may send andreceive the discussion messages 316 over the same medium employed by themedia content input interface 302. For example, if the media contentreceiver 202 is a cable television set-top box, the communicationinterface 306 may transmit and receive the messages 316 over the samecoaxial cable employed to receive television programming.

To allow the user of the media content receiver 202 to engage in anonline discussion, the user interface 308 may facilitate the entry oftext and related control characters by way of user input 318. In manyexamples, the user interface 308 may be a remote control interfaceconfigured to receive such input, along with other commands forcontrolling the media content receiver 202, by way of infrared (IR),radio frequency (RF), acoustic, or other wireless signal technologies.To facilitate such information entry, the receiver 202 may provide amenu system presented to the user via the television 320 or videomonitor. In some implementations, the user interface 308 may alsoinclude any of a keyboard, mouse, and/or other user input device.

The control circuitry 310 is configured to control and/or access othercomponents of the receiver 202, including the media content inputinterface 302, the media content output interface 304, the communicationinterface 306, and the user interface 308. The control circuitry 310 mayinclude one or more processors, such as a microprocessor,microcontroller, or digital signal processor (DSP), configured toexecute instructions directing the processor to perform the functionsdiscussed more fully hereinafter. The control circuitry 310 may alsoinclude memory or data storage adapted to contain such instructions.Such memory may also include data to aid the control circuitry 310 inperforming the tasks more particularly described below. In anotherimplementation, the control circuitry 310 may be strictly hardware-basedlogic, or may include a combination of hardware, firmware, and/orsoftware elements.

In operation, the control circuitry 310 of the media content receiver202 is configured to receive the input primary visual content 312,facilitate the engagement of a user in an online discussion with usersof other receivers 202, and present to the user via the television 320the output primary visual content 314 in combination withrepresentations of the discussion and its participants in a way thatallows the output primary visual content 314 to remain the primary focusof attention. Generally, the representation of the discussion involvesgraphics of statements and their associated authors, with the graphicsplaced on areas of the television 320 display that are less likely todetract from the output primary visual content 314, and then remainingon the display for a limited period of time.

The output primary visual content 314 may be a broadcast program that isbeing viewed by users of two different media content receivers 202 sothat the users may discuss the program. In another example, the outputprimary visual content 314 may be a video-on-demand (VOD) program beingtransmitted from the uplink center 204 via the uplink 210 u, satellite206, and the downlink 210 d to at least two different receivers 202. Inthis scenario, playback of the VOD program may be synchronized at thereceivers 202 via control signals or messages between the receivers 202and the communication server 208. Further, to request the VOD program, arequest signal or message from one of the receivers 202 may be passedthrough the communication server 208 via the uplink center connection214 to the uplink center 204 to indicate that the program is to bepassed to multiple receivers 202 involved in the same online discussion.

FIGS. 4A-4E are graphical representations of a television display 400according to a particular embodiment of the invention. FIG. 4A providesa view of primary visual content 402 (in this case, a view of a mountainand surrounding sky) prior to the initiation of an online discussionsession. As shown, the primary visual content 402 occupies the entiretelevision display 400. In other situations, such as when the aspectratio of the content 402 does not match the aspect ratio of the display400, filler bands may be positioned along any of the four edges (top,bottom, left, and right) of the display 400.

FIG. 4B exemplifies a potential view of the television display 400 afteran online discussion session has been initiated. In this example, toindicate that a discussion is active, a discussion session indicator 404taking the form of a low-profile scenery silhouette, is added along thebottom periphery of the television display 400. As a result, little ofthe primary visual content 402 is impacted. In other examples, thediscussion session indicator 404 may reside along any of the other edgesof the television display 400. Alternately, the discussion sessionindicator 404 may be a small icon or other graphic located in a corneror along an edge of the display 400.

Initiation of an online discussion session may occur in several ways.For one, initiation may be caused by a specific act by the user of thereceiver 202 or the user of another receiver 202 prior to sending anymessages or statements as part of the discussion. More specifically, auser of a receiver 202 may send a message 316 specifically requesting auser of another receiver 202 to join a discussion session. If thereceiving user responds affirmatively by way of another message 316,both receivers 202 may then enter the online discussion session. Inanother example, a user may initiate the discussion by transmitting astatement or message 316 to another user, with the sending and receivingusers automatically being placed into the same online discussionsession. In this latter implementation, the control circuitry 310 maynot cause a discussion session indicator 404 to be displayed, butinstead provide representations of the discussion participants andcorresponding statements without the use of the session indicator 404.

FIG. 4C depicts an icon 410A or avatar for a particular authorgraphically related to a statement 412A of the author. In the specificcase of FIG. 4C, the statement 412A is illustrated as a speech “bubble”emanating from near the icon 410A to specifically indicate the author ofthe statement 412A, although other ways of relating the icon to itsspecific statement may be utilized. Further, the icon 410A may appear toarise from the discussion session indicator 404, possibly along with thestatement 412A, as opposed to appearing abruptly at the position shownin FIG. 4C. As with the session indicator 404, the icon 410A and thestatement 412A reside near a bottom periphery of the display 400,although other locations along the top or sides of the display 400 maybe utilized to maintain the center of the primary visual content 402free from obstruction.

In addition to the various types of information noted above, a message316 carrying the statement 412A to the receiver 202 for presentation onthe television display 400 may include a description of graphicsembodied in the icon 410A so that the control circuitry 310 of thereceiver 202 may use that data to generate the icon 410A on the display400. In other embodiments, the data describing the icon 410A may betransmitted upon initiation of the online discussion session in aseparate message from the communication server 208.

In another embodiment presented in FIG. 4D, the aspect ratio of theprimary visual content 402 does not match the aspect ratio of thetelevision display 400. In this specific example, the content 402 doesnot fill the top and bottom areas of the television display 400, thuscausing the presence of a top filler band 420A and a bottom filler band420B. Thus, as shown in FIG. 4D, the author icon 410A and associatedstatement 412A, along with the discussion session indicator 404, mayreside completely within the bottom filler band 420B, therebyeliminating any possible overlap between the discussion-related graphics404, 410A, 412A and the primary visual content 402. Alternately, the topfiller band 420A may be employed to display the discussion graphics 404,410A, 412A in a similar manner.

In yet other arrangements, the primary visual content may be of anaspect ratio that causes one or two side filler bands on the televisiondisplay 400, thus creating room along either the left an/or right edgesof the display 400 in which to locate the discussion graphics 404, 410A,412A.

According to another implementation in which the aspect ratios of thedisplay 400 and the primary visual content 402 are not equal, thecontrol circuitry 310 may possess the capability to position the primaryvisual content 402 toward the top or bottom (in the case shown in FIG.4D), or to the left or right (in the case side filler bands are created)when an online discussion session is initiated. Such repositioning ofthe content 402 on the display 400 may generate a larger contiguousfiller band along one edge of the display 400 to be used forpresentation of the discussion graphics 404, 410A, 412A. The terminationof an ongoing discussion session may thus result in the controlcircuitry 310 re-centering the primary visual content to generate twoequally-sized filler bands.

In yet another configuration, the user may desire the aspect ratio ofthe primary visual content 402 to be altered so that at least one fillerband results, so that the discussion graphics 404, 410A, 412A may beplaced therein. For example, the height of the content 402 may bereduced to produce a bottom filler band 420B, as shown in FIG. 4D, eventhough the original aspect ratio of the content 402 matches the aspectratio of the television display 400.

At the time the icon 410A and statement 412A are first represented onthe television display 400, the control circuitry 310 may initiate atimer tracking how long the statement 412A has been displayed. If thestatement 412A has been displayed for some predetermined period of time,and no new statements from the source of the displayed statement 412A(i.e., the author represented by the icon 410A), the statement 412A,possibly along with the icon 410A, may be removed from the display 400.In one implementation, the icon 410A and the statement 412A may “sink”into the discussion session indicator 404 to eliminate any overlapbetween the primary visual content 402 and the graphics 410A, 412Aassociated with the discussion. In another example, the icon 410A andthe statement 412A may be removed abruptly from the display 400A withoutany relocation toward the session indicator 404. In another embodiment,the statement 412A may be removed upon expiration of the timer, whilethe author icon 410A is maintained on the display 400 for someadditionally period of time before being removed. FIG. 4E, described ingreater detail below, exemplifies the case in which the statement 412Ahas been removed completely, and the icon 410A is in the process ofretreating into the discussion session indicator 404.

If, instead, a new statement from the same author represented by theicon 410A is received at the receiver 202 prior to removal of the firststatement 412A, the control circuitry 310 may simply replace the firststatement 412A with the newer statement in the speech bubble. In somecases, the control circuitry 310 may desire to alert the user that thetext currently displayed is a new statement, rather than the firststatement 412A. To address this desire, the control circuitry 310 may beconfigured to darken or “fade” the first statement 412A so that if a newstatement is received, the new statement may be displayed at an originallevel of brightness. Such a change in brightness from the firststatement 412A to the second may provide a significant cue to the userthat a new statement is being presented on the display 400. In anotherexample, the control circuitry 310 may employ flashing or some othergraphical technique to alert the user of the receiver 202 to thepresentation of the most recent statement. In yet another example, a newspeech bubble for the new statement may temporarily and partiallyoverlap the speech bubble of the first statement 412A before the firststatement 412A and associated bubble are removed.

A statement 412B from a second author may be received during thediscussion for presentation to the user of the receiver 202. FIG. 4Erepresents such a situation. In this particular example, the statement412B is displayed in association with an author icon 410B representingthe second author. Both the second icon 410B and the statement 412B arelocated along the bottom periphery of the television display 400 toavoid overlap with a central portion of the primary visual content 402.Further, the second icon 410B and statement 412B are positioned so as tonot overlap or otherwise interfere with any other icons or statementscurrently being presented on the display 400. As mentioned above, whilethe second icon 410B and statement 412B are being displayed, the periodof time for the first icon 410A and statement 412A has elapsed, causingboth the first icon 410A and statement 412A to be removed from thedisplay 400. The same rules for displaying and removing the first icon410A and statement 412A, as presented above, may also be applied to thesecond icon 410B and statement 412B.

While the examples above involve two participants in an onlinediscussion, several more authors may participant concurrently, thusimplying the potential display of multiple icons 410 and associatedstatements 412 at any one time. These discussion graphics may be placedat various locations about the periphery of the television display 400to prevent a central portion of the television display 400 from beingoverlapped, as well as reduce the possibility that the discussiongraphics overlap each other. In one implementation, the controlcircuitry 310 or the communication server 208 may limit the number ofparticipants in a particular discussion session to ensure that theprimary visual content 402 is not greatly affected in an adverse manner.Also, the control circuitry 310 may reduce the size of the icons andrelated statements as presented on the television display 400 as thenumber of participants in the discussion increases.

Several people or entities may serve as an author or discussionparticipant. For example, any user of a receiver 202 coupled with acommunication server 208, including multiple users of the same receiver202, may act as a participant in an online discussion. In someimplementations, software executing in at least one of the receivers 202or the communication server 208 may also be a participant. For example,software in the communication server 208 may act as a host of the onlinediscussion, asking questions of the other participants concerning theprimary visual content 420, and evaluating their responses for thepurpose of awarding game points or prizes. Such questions may, forexample, ask about knowledge concerning events that have alreadyoccurred in the current program serving as the primary visual content420, or predictions about events yet to be shown in the content 420.Many other possibilities concerning the use of software-driven orautomated participants exist in other contexts.

Given that some users may possess different tastes regarding how thediscussion graphics appear on their respective television displays 400,the control circuitry 310 of the receiver 202 may provide a set of menuitems displayable on the television display 400 to allow the user toenter selections via the user interface 308 to modify various aspects ofthe discussion graphics. Such selections may include, for example, whereon the display 400 the icons 410 and statements 412 are to be placedpreferentially, how large the icons 410 and statements 412 are to beportrayed, how long the icons 410 and statements 412 are to remain onthe display 400, and others.

At least some embodiments as described herein thus allow a user toengage in online discussions by way of a media content receiver withother remotely-located users without detracting appreciably from theprimary visual content being presented to the user at the time.Typically, these techniques include placing graphics relaying thediscussion in relatively unimportant areas of the display presenting thecontent, such as at a periphery of the display. Also, the amount of timethe discussion graphics occupy any area of the display may be limited.However, in circumstances in which a group of users is viewing primaryvisual content via the same media content receiver, some of the usersmay desire to watch the content without any potential distractionresulting from an online discussion.

To address such a concern, a system similar to that shown in FIG. 5 maybe employed, in which a single media content receiver 202 may becommunicatively coupled to at least two separate displays: a televisiondisplay 400 for presenting only primary visual content, and a secondarydisplay 500 that may present both the primary visual content and as wellas discussion graphics, as shown in FIGS. 4A-4E. In a furtherembodiment, two or more such secondary displays 500 may be capable ofcarrying on separate online discussions, all while the main televisiondisplay 400 strictly presents the primary content without any discussiongraphics. As a result, several users, such as members of a family, mayenjoy the primary content together in the way each viewer desires.Examples of a secondary display 500 may include, but are not limited to,a laptop or netbook computer, a cellular phone, and a personal digitalassistant (PDA), each of which may be coupled by a wired or wirelessconnection to the receiver 202.

While several embodiments of the invention have been discussed herein,other implementations encompassed by the scope of the invention arepossible. For example, while various embodiments have been describedlargely within the context of a television set-top box, the design ofother types of electronic devices, such as cable and terrestrialtelevision set-top boxes, cellular telephones, PDAs, and desktop andlaptop computers, that are capable of facilitating online discussions orchats with users of other devices may employ various aspects of thesystems and methods described above to similar effect. In addition,aspects of one embodiment disclosed herein may be combined with those ofalternative embodiments to create further implementations of the presentinvention. Thus, while the present invention has been described in thecontext of specific embodiments, such descriptions are provided forillustration and not limitation. Accordingly, the proper scope of thepresent invention is delimited only by the following claims and theirequivalents.

1. A method of representing online discussions in conjunction withprimary visual content, the method comprising: transmitting the primaryvisual content for presentation on a visual display; receiving astatement as part of an online discussion; in response to receiving thestatement, transmitting a representation of the statement and an iconrepresenting a source of the statement in conjunction with the primaryvisual content for presentation on the visual display, wherein the iconand the statement are coupled graphically on the visual display, andwherein the icon and the statement are placed near a periphery of thevisual display; and after a period of time while the icon and thestatement are presented on the visual display, during which a secondstatement by the source of the first statement is not received, removingthe icon and the statement from the visual display while maintaining theprimary visual content on the visual display.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein transmitting the representation of the statement and the iconfurther comprises: sliding the icon onto the visual display via theperiphery of the visual display.
 3. The method of claim 2, whereinsliding the icon onto the visual display further comprises: sliding theicon onto the visual display via a bottom periphery of the visualdisplay.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein removing the icon and thestatement further comprises: sliding the icon off of the visual display.5. The method of claim 4, wherein sliding the icon off of the visualdisplay further comprises: sliding the icon off of the visual displayvia a bottom periphery of the visual display.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein removing the icon and the statement further comprises:progressively fading the statement from the visual display during theperiod of time.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receivinga second statement of the online discussion from the source of the firststatement before expiration of the period of time; and in response toreceiving the second statement, replacing the first statement with thesecond statement on the visual display, and after a second period oftime while the second statement is presented on the visual display,during which a third statement by the source of the first statement isnot received, removing the icon and the second statement from the visualdisplay while maintaining the primary visual content on the visualdisplay.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving asecond statement of the online discussion from a source of the secondstatement that is not the source of the first statement; in response toreceiving the second statement, transmitting a representation of thesecond statement and a second icon representing the source of the secondstatement in conjunction with the primary visual content forpresentation on the visual display, wherein the second icon and thesecond statement are coupled graphically on the visual display, whereinthe second icon and the second statement are placed near a periphery ofthe visual display, and wherein the first icon and the second icon donot overlap on the visual display; and after a second period of timewhile the second icon and the second statement are presented on thevisual display, during which a third statement by the source of thesecond statement is not received, removing the second icon and thesecond statement from the visual display while maintaining the primaryvisual content on the visual display.
 9. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: transmitting a graphical region in conjunction with theprimary visual content to indicate the online discussion, wherein thegraphical region is located along at least part of the periphery of thevisual display.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein: the source of thestatement is a user of a media content receiver, wherein the mediacontent receiver is configured to connect to the visual display.
 11. Themethod of claim 1, wherein: the source of the statement is a user of amedia content receiver, wherein the media content receiver is configuredto communicatively couple via a communication server with a second mediacontent receiver connected to the visual display.
 12. The method ofclaim 1, wherein: the source of the statement is software executingwithin a communication server communicatively coupled with a mediacontent receiver connected to the visual display.
 13. The method ofclaim 1, wherein transmitting the representation of the statement andthe icon further comprises: presenting the icon in an area of the visualdisplay unused by the primary visual content.
 14. A media contentreceiver, comprising: a media content input interface configured toreceive primary visual content; a media content output interfaceconfigured to transmit the primary visual content to a visual displayfor presentation to a user; a communication interface configured toreceive a statement as part of an online discussion, and anidentification of a source of the statement; and control circuitryconfigured to: transmit a representation of the statement and an iconrepresenting the source of the statement in conjunction with the primaryvisual content via the media content output interface for presentationon the visual display, wherein the icon and the statement are associatedgraphically on the visual display, and wherein the icon and thestatement are located outside a central region of the visual display;and after a period of time while the icon and the statement arepresented on the visual display, during which a second statement by thesource of the first statement is not received, remove the icon and thestatement from the visual display while maintaining the primary visualcontent on the visual display.
 15. The media content receiver of claim14, wherein the control circuitry is further configured to: receive asecond statement of the online discussion from the source of the firststatement via the communication interface before expiration of theperiod of time; and in response to receiving the second statement,replace the first statement with the second statement on the visualdisplay, and after a second period of time while the second statement ispresented on the visual display, during which a third statement by thesource of the first statement is not received, remove the icon and thesecond statement from the visual display while maintaining the primaryvisual content on the visual display.
 16. The media content receiver ofclaim 14, wherein: the media content input interface comprises thecommunication interface.
 17. The media content receiver of claim 14,further comprising: a user interface configured to receive a secondstatement of the online discussion from a user of the media contentreceiver.
 18. The media content receiver of claim 17, wherein thecontrol circuitry is further configured to: in response to receiving thesecond statement, transmit a representation of the second statement anda second icon representing the user in conjunction with the primaryvisual content for presentation on the visual display, wherein thesecond icon and the second statement are associated graphically on thevisual display, wherein the second icon and the second statement arelocated on the visual display outside a central region of the visualdisplay, and wherein the first icon and the second icon do not overlapon the visual display; and after a second period of time while thesecond icon and the second statement are presented on the visualdisplay, during which a third statement by the user is not received viathe user interface, remove the second icon and the second statement fromthe visual display while maintaining the primary visual content on thevisual display.
 19. A television content receiver, comprising: atelevision content input interface configured to receive primary videocontent; a television content output interface configured to provide theprimary video content to a television display for presentation to auser; a communication interface configured to receive a statement in anonline discussion, and an identification of the source of the statement;and control circuitry configured to: transmit a representation of thestatement and an icon representing the source of the statement incombination with the primary video content via the television contentoutput interface to the television display; wherein the icon and thestatement are associated graphically on the television display, andwherein the icon and the statement are located near a periphery of thetelevision display; and after a period of time while the icon and thestatement are presented on the television display, during which a secondstatement by the source of the first statement is not received, removethe icon and the statement from the television display while maintainingthe primary video content on the television display.
 20. The televisioncontent receiver of claim 19, wherein: the television content inputinterface is configured to receive the primary video content from atleast one of a satellite, a cable head-end, and a terrestrial antenna;the communication interface comprises at least one of a telephoneconnection and a wide-area network connection.